You can view tonight's total lunar eclipse at your home, safely with the naked eye, starting about 8:45 p.m. If you prefer public gatherings with telescope viewing, you might want to attend special events at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News and at Jones Magnet School in Hampton.

The moon revolves around the Earth once every 27.3 days. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth passes between the sun and moon, casting its shadow over the lunar surface. Total lunar eclipses occur on average about once every three years, although the previous one here was in November 2003.

During a total lunar eclipse, the moon is completely covered for an hour or more. That should happen from 10:23 p.m. to 11:45 p.m.

By comparison, the "total" portion of a solar eclipse lasts only seven minutes. This is because the moon's shadow (what you see in a solar eclipse) is much smaller than the Earth's shadow (what you see in a lunar eclipse.)

Cloud cover across the Earth affects the sharpness or fuzziness of the shadow on the moon, Maness said. Volcanic eruptions across the globe affect the color of the shadow. Ash in the atmosphere blocks more sunlight, creating a darker shadow.

So far the weather looks iffy, with partly cloudy skies forecast for this evening.

If it clouds up, the Virginia Living Museum will have a Webcast of the event in its planetarium theater.

If you miss tonight's show, you'll have to bet on good weather for the next total lunar eclipse viewable in Virginia, which isn't until March 3, 2007. *

LUNAR ECLIPSE

Tonight's eclipse stretches from 8:45 p.m., when you should see the first visible shading on the moon, until 1:25 a.m., when the last shading disappears. The moon will be totally in shadow from 10:23 p.m. until 11:45 p.m. *